L-2: Some images from KSC

Updated 2/11/2010, 11.00 EDT / 16.00 MEZ

Thilo Kranz and myself have been on two different tours today and had the possibility to shoot some behind the scenes footage. Thilo has been on a press tour. It took him to Launch Pad 39B, which in the meantime is being dismantled and rebuild for the requirements of the Constellation programme. I visited the Orbiter Processing Facility OPF-1, Launch Pad 39A with Space shuttle Discovery on it and the 160 metre tall Vehicle Assemby Building.

On Launch complex 39B you can not just feel but already see the end of the Space shuttle era. There will no more shuttles launching from here, as the pad has already been used for the test launch of Ares I-X. From 39B, Thilo took a great photo from nearby launch pad 39A, on which discovery currently is still being hidden by the Rotating Service Structure. And of course a photo of the world-famous countdown clock at the KSC press site is a must.

Some more pics I have taken show Space Shuttle Atlantis in the Orbiter Processing Facility OPF-1: Atlantis will fly only in case STS-135 will be finally approved - or in case of emergency as a rescue vehicle for STS-134. KSC's Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) is a class on its own: We claim the Gasometer in Oberhausen, which still hosts DLR's 'Out of this World' exhibtion until 31 December, Europe's tallest building on the inside. With an inner and outer heigth of 160 metres, VAB is even taller.

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As Head of the Cross-Media Section of DLR's Corporate Communications Department, Marco Trovatello was responsible for Communication across all media distribution channels. As of 1 May 2014, he serves as Cross-Media Coordinator and Strategy Advisor in the Corporate Communications Department of the European Space Agency ESA.
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